The War we Fought
by ADAMalchemist
Summary: "Why didn't you continue fighting him? You could have been free by now if you did." Jack chuckled slightly at his comment and shook his head. "Hiccup, I did fight. For two hundred years, I fought. But it gets kinda hard to fight when you know every time you do, he takes part of your soul." HiJack. Once again, bad at summaries. M rating for later chapters.


**A/N: **** I keep coming up with ideas. This is one of them. Blah, blah, blah, I don't own HTTYD or ROTG. Thank the Gods too.**

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_"We'll give them a world where everything, __**everything **__is –"_

_"Pitch Black?"_

_"…And Jack Frost, too. They'll believe in both of us." _

- Pitch Black and Jack Frost; _Rise of the Guardians_

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The only thing keeping him from slipping into the darkness of sleep was the wrenching pain in his back and stomach. As he fell to the ground, the pain intensified and spread to his limbs, causing him to grunt. He leaned against the glacier behind him, his eyelids falling and lifting only to slowly fall back down. Drips of the black sand that had just attacked him fell all around him, shinning and shimmering in the dull light of the moon. Large, dark arrows flew past his head, barely missing his ears as they pinned him down by his sweatshirt. They weren't needed, though. He couldn't feel any part of his body at all. And if he did, he still wouldn't have moved. Moving could mean death at this point. Or at least very saver injuries. So all he could really do was look around with the heaviest heart anyone could possibly have.

Every single one of his friends was pinned almost exactly as he was only they looked much worse than he probably did. North laid on his stomach, his body spread across what once was a table, toys scattered all around. He was the farthest from his reach, all the way back down the slope they had just fought on.

Bunnymund was held up in the air, patches of his fur torn off and thrown into the wind. He could see the blood mixing with the black sand spikes that kept him still and it made his stomach churn. There were many things he had seen in his days; icicles that impaled people through the head, frostbite that ripped flesh right off the bone. But this was much more personal than all that.

His head spun in vertigo as he looked around almost frantically for Sandy. It gave him a sense of relief as well as a sense of terror all at the same time. If the small man was no where to be seen, then he must have made it out of the fight and escaped to some place safe. But something inside him said it wasn't the case. There was a reason why Sandy couldn't be seen and, unfortunately, he knew why.

Finally, he leaned his head back, turning it to where he last saw Tooth. The sight struck him deeply yet, he couldn't look away. Her feathers were everywhere, drops of her blood tainted the snow. He could tell she and her fairies were still breathing but for how much longer? Little Baby Tooth opened her eyes weakly and reached out her hand to him. And if he could, he'd do the same.

What had happened, he wasn't completely sure. The last thing he remembered was sitting in the meeting room with everyone as they were discussing something that he wasn't paying attention to. He was sitting right next to North when there was this loud crash and a sudden darkness. The small flashback stopped at the sound of cold eerily low laughter. He looked over to see his attacker's figure make its way closer to him. The only thing he could see clearly was a pair of golden eyes within the shadowy mist. Their owner's name slipped passed his lips but he could hear his own voice.

"What's the matter, Frost?" The figure asked, looming over him. "Cat got your tongue?"

Light started to shine on the man's face, showing just how amused and pleased he was to see a Guardian fall so low. His face came closer and closer until he couldn't see anymore. Everything had gone dark and numb but he could hear the sound of feet in the snow. He could hear the wind brush up against flags and ice. And then there was a long period of silence before a loud sound of a cage door slamming. Everything stayed in darkness for he didn't know how long. Hours…days maybe. The numbness slowly wore off and he could feel the smooth metal of the cage floor and the harshness if its bars. When he finally batted his eyes open, he looked all around.

There really wasn't much to look at; everything was dark. After a while of his eyes adjusting he finally knew where exactly he was. His cage began to lower as did his heart and by the time he reached a few inches off the floor, he was completely cold and numb inside.

Brisk footsteps filled the emptiness and, once again, golden eyes were shown through the darkness. Pitch Black stepped into what little light was allowed in and smirked at his captive guest. "Well, now. It's about time you woke up. You've been asleep for _ages_."

Jack raised an eyebrow, questions swirling through his mind. What was he doing here? What happened to everyone else? But he kept quiet. One wrong move could possibly bring an end to everything.

It had been at least ten years since the last fall of Pitch and, he had hoped, it would have been the last time he ever had to fight him. As he looked him over, he took note of everything. This King of Nightmares always gave off this sense that there was no hope left, that everything is lost and there is no way of getting it back. The first time the winter spirit encountered him, it scared him out of his senses for the longest time. But this sense the shadowy man gave off…it was much darker than that. It made him feel scared even if he didn't show it. He wanted to curl away from him as he moved closer to the cage but he stayed still.

From a pocket inside his robe, he pulled out something that froze him even more; his box of baby teeth. "You know, these past years have taught me many things." He swung his hands around as he paced the floor. "One of those lessons was that if I wanted something, I couldn't just be sweet and ask nicely or take away a few things to bribe it out of anyone. No…I would have to be more forceful than that…"

Pitch chuckled and twirled the tooth box in his hand. "And I was clearly a fool for ever giving this to you. Who would have thought that you were smart enough to even _think _about looking inside?" He scuffed as his voice went lower and softer, his head hanging over the tiny golden container. "Such a fool…"

"What…what are you going to do?" Jack's words came out cracked and weak and clearly unheard as the Nightmare King continued.

"With you gone, I could have taken them all. I could have brought back my age of darkness and be seen by all, be feared by all! But then you came along and destroyed everything…" Fearlings could be heard screaming and groaning, sending shivers up spines and striking fear into the hearts of everyone around them. Pitch looked up at the teen with an evil smirk. "It's only fitting I destroy your everything as well."

Jack's eyes became wide as he realized how serious he was about this. There was no bluffing. There was no 'join me or I break your memories' choice. He wasn't walking away saying he was going to hold onto it and he wasn't putting it back down into his pocket. If anything, he was holding it up even higher.

"No…" He started begging. "No, please."

Without another word, Pitch dropped the golden box and allowed it to shatter, its contents scattering across the room. He smiled almost proudly as the boy screamed in agony and ordered his fearlings to crush the teeth completely. As they did what they were told, the memories from the teeth flew up in a mist and with a handful of black sand, he started changing them.

It was almost like reliving every important thing that had ever happened to him. Jack watched as the memories turned from good to evil in a matter of seconds. He watched as the hugs he gave to his family turned to punches and kicks, the games into shouting matches. He watched as his sister fell down into the lake and he watched as his past self jumped in after her. Just as he saw his hand reach out and graze her hair, Pitch moved his hands around to make the mist disappear.

"Much better…" He chuckled lowly, brushing the dusty remains out of the way. "Now tell me, Jack, how do you feel?"

Jack wasn't sure how to feel. Even though he saw everything change in front of him, he wasn't completely sure what was real and what wasn't. His head hurt and he leaned back against the cage. All the memories of his mother hugging him goodnight turned into her slapping him across the face. The memory of his death included his sister drowning as well.

Everything was messed up in his head and he wasn't sure what to believe anymore. Did he really see Tooth's chest rise and fall or were they all really dead? Was he really alone again? It felt like it. In fact, it felt worse than when he was alone. At least when he was invisible, he had the hope of meeting up with one of the Guardians. But now, they were all gone. The children that believed in him now…they weren't going to believe soon. He felt worse than just alone. He felt lost.

Pitch grinned as he watched light drain from the spirit's eyes. There was still some there, but, it wouldn't take long until that left him completely. "Perfect."

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**324 years later**

It was another normal day. The snow was falling, everyone was putting the finishing touches on their huts, and most of the children were asleep. The only one that wasn't was exploring the area. It was a new place, after all, and he just couldn't fall asleep knowing that something in this new land could possibly help them in their fight against the nightmares that came at night.

They were horrendous things these nightmares. Any kind of monster that could exist became reality at night. Some were big enough to trample houses while others were small enough to fit through keyholes. They would come and taint the souls of people, leaving them either crazy or just utterly lost and hopeless. He had seen it happen before with his uncle. When it first happened, his father told him that there were only two things that would come next: his uncle would completely give up on existing or would join the Nightmare King that plagued the Earth. Most would join their attacker. But not his uncle. He just laid there, no soul, darkened eyes. It didn't take long before his heart gave way.

This strangely didn't stop him from going out into the unknown, though. If anything, it made him want to go explore even more. To find out a way to stop the nightmares, to stop the snow, to stop all the pain and suffering and moving around every night because no place is safe.

He climbed over a set of ice blocks and checked his bag to make sure nothing fell out. Sighing in relief, he continued on. Every few minutes, he'd find something interesting; a bracelet made out of metal with strange designs, two little buds with small holes in them connected by a cord. He placed the buds in his ears and stared down at the silver piece at the end of the cord. It was a weird little thing, but he kept it anyway. Not that far away from the ear buds, he found something small and sleek. Part of it was incased in some sort of plastic and the front of it was exactly how he imagined televisions looked like. He had read many books from the days before the snow and they always talked about a box with moving pictures on a screen. But, those were much bigger than this. This thing was no bigger than his hand and only had two buttons which, when pressed, did nothing. He turned it around a few times before putting it in his bag with the rest of his stuff.

"Nothing really useful today." The brunet muttered to himself. Usually, he'd find something that could help them in everyday life. Like books or medicine.

He sighed and started making his way toward a frosted over lake when he heard something. It was like a small cry for help in some other sort of language. The voice was soft and somewhat distorted, growing louder when he got closer to its source. A slight chill flew up his spine as he looked around a boulder and saw it.

A shadowy creature made of black sand was curled up, partially covered in the newly fallen snow. Its eyes were strangely green instead of the usual yellow and it was no bigger than the teen's forearm. Sensing the human's presence, it turned around and stared at the boy.

Part of the boy told him to run, it's a trap, you'll die if you stay. Another said that it's okay. He silently walked closer and pulled out a slice of bread he had taken with him, handing it to the small fearling. It took it quickly and ate the whole thing before he could even blink.

When it was finished, it seemed to purr and curl up against the human's hand. He expected to feel himself slip away as the black sand touched his skin but nothing happened. The teen smiled. "You're harmless, aren't you? You've got no bite in you."

The two sat next to each other against one of the many blocks of ice and flipped through the books he always carried in his bag. Pictures of certain plants and animals popped out in color against the black text, making the sandy creature curious about it all. The boy smiled once again and began to read off what things were. He explained that these plants are made into medicines and these animals were killed giving the humans food, clothing, and shelter. The next book they started reading was much different. It didn't have notes scribbled on the sides of the pages and it seemed older than the rest. The pictures were drawn into the pages, showing creatures with wings and the body of a lizard.

The fearling had seen this before when the other nightmares attacked. They became huge and flew around, crushing large numbers of people with their bodies. With a little shake here and a grunt, it finally had a distinct form. It looked up at its new friend with a toothless grin.

The brunet smiled back at this creature he was supposed to fear. Hardly anyone smiled at him anymore and this little act seemed to push all the fears he once had about the shadow away. This nightmare was his friend.

"Hiksti!" He heard his father call in the distance.

Hiksti jumped and coaxed the fearling into his bag. There was no way he was going to leave it out here to die. Nothing truly deserved to die in his eyes.

He stood up, his heart beating faster than he could ever imagine. "Coming!" He called out and began running back to the camp, his hand on the bag to keep it still.

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**A/N: I honestly believe that Pitch's fearlings, shadows, and nightmare creatures are actually the souls of tortured people. - ADAM  
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**Reviews = Motivation = Chapters**


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